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In the Pale Moonlight (episode)
Sick of the losses the Federation is taking in the war, Sisko enlists Garak's help to persuade the Romulans to join the Federation against the Dominion. Sisko soon learns that in order to save the Federation, he must abandon the values it stands for. Summary Captain Benjamin Sisko is recording a log entry and begins by discussing his dreaded weekly posting of the Federation casualty report, listing the dead, wounded, and missing for that week. This particular week, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax discovers that a longtime friend, Leslie Wong, was lost with all hands on board the [[USS Cairo|USS Cairo]]. The Cairo was ambushed by a Dominion patrol that passed through Romulan space, a common occurrence, because the Romulans have a non-aggression pact with the Dominion. At this point, Sisko decides he is going to bring the Romulans into the war. Initially, this objective seems unattainable, as it's clearly in the Romulans' best interests to stay neutral. When Dax plays the Romulan devil's advocate in a mock debate, Sisko determines how to get them into the war on their side. It becomes evident that Sisko needs "solid proof" to convince the Romulans that the Dominion is planning on conquering them after they are done with the Federation Alliance. Sisko contacts Elim Garak because of his "skills" at retrieving highly secret and guarded information (namely, "secret war plans" that Sisko could use). Garak reluctantly agrees, after noting that it would involve him calling in all of his favors, and that the outing may end up being a rather "messy" business. However, Sisko is not shaken and is prepared to do anything to accomplish the goal, as noted in his log. That night, Sisko learns that the Dominion has conquered Betazed in a matter of ten hours, placing the Dominion in a strategic position to hit several key worlds (including Earth, Andor and Vulcan). This makes Sisko even more determined, and after three days, he asks Garak about his progress. Garak had spoken to several Cardassians who were willing to help, but they were all dead within a day. Garak proposes that they manufacture the evidence they need instead. Sisko is at first appalled at the thought but, as he indicates in his log, he went along because he "knew it was right". Garak proposes that Sisko invite Senator Vreenak to Deep Space 9, who will be passing by in a few days. Vreenak negotiated the Romulan non-aggression pact with the Dominion and is an outspoken supporter of it, and has quite a low opinion of the Federation. The idea is that if Sisko can convince him to join the war, the whole Romulan Senate will follow. They formulate a plan to show him a fabricated recording of a secret, high-level Dominion meeting in which the Dominion discusses the plan to conquer the Romulans. In order to ensure that Vreenak believes it, they will use a genuine Cardassian optolythic data rod, as well as a good cover story about how Starfleet obtained it. Starfleet approves the plan. The first thing that Sisko needs to do is to get Grathon Tolar, who is an expert in holographic forgery, released from a Klingon prison. Gowron pardons him, and Sisko tells Tolar that the conditions of his release are to create a holographic program for him. Tolar realizes the nature of what he has to do when he learns that Garak is involved. Tolar agrees, as the alternative is to face execution by the Klingons. Later, a glitch tests Sisko's will to go through with the plan. Tolar gets drunk at Quark's Bar and, in the ensuing bar fight, stabs Quark. Odo cannot release Tolar unless Quark decides not to press charges. Sisko bribes Quark into not pressing charges. Sisko agrees to compensate Quark's for his lost profits and damaged clothes as well as to let some illegal merchandise pass security. Quark loves the idea, not just because of his economic gain, but that Sisko reaffirms Quark's faith in the 98th Rule of Acquisition: every man has his price. As Sisko says in his log, he begins to second guess the endeavour, until he receives another casualty report. The next step in the plan is to obtain a genuine Cardassian data rod. Garak, by some "minor miracle", finds a seller of one; unfortunately, the price is quite high -- 200 liters of bio-mimetic gel, a very dangerous and controlled substance. Sisko at first rejects the idea, but Garak tells him that finding another will be impossible, so Sisko reluctantly agrees to the trade, and they negotiate the quantity down to 85 liters. Doctor Bashir is appalled at the thought of having to prepare the gel, and only does so after demanding written orders, endorsed by Starfleet, and even then over his explicit objection and protest. The "team" of Sisko, Garak, and Tolar obtain the rod and begin preparing a convincing recording in which Weyoun and Damar plan the invasion of Romulus, making sure to have the two squabble with each other and appear as "real" as possible. The program is recorded onto the rod, and the forgery is complete. In order to ensure that the fake will pass, Sisko threatens Tolar with an unpleasant execution at the hands of Gowron if the forgery is flawed. Sisko at this point is getting very nervous, as Senator Vreenak comes to the station in a cloaked Romulan shuttle and egotistically dresses down Sisko when the two meet. Meanwhile, Garak plans to inspect the Senator's ship (for anything "useful"), and to stop by Tolar's quarters (to say "hello"). Sisko and Vreenak discuss the fate of their respective worlds over a bottle of kali-fal. At which point Sisko tells Vreenak that he has learned that the Dominion are planning a surprise attack on the Romulans. Vreenak, naturally, demands proof, at which time Sisko presents his forgery. Vreenak demands to inspect the data rod. Vreenak, in typical Romulan fashion, takes his time inspecting the rod, during which time Sisko, as he indicates in his log, is very anxious. The fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant hangs on whether or not his forgery passes Romulan scrutiny. Sisko attempts, in vain, to calm his worries, until Vreenak finally calls Sisko to pronounce his judgement. Vreenak furiously confronts Sisko, declaring the rod to be an absolute fake, and promises to expose Starfleet's treachery and deception to the Romulan Senate, which could easily drive the Romulans to the Dominion's side, dooming the Federation for good. Fortunately for Sisko and the Federation, two days later Sisko learns that Vreenak's shuttle has conveniently exploded, killing him. Sisko quickly realizes that Garak was behind this, and he confronts Garak in his shop, with a fist to the face. Garak demands a chance to explain and outlines the actual plan... Realizing that the forgery may well not pass Vreenak's inspection, Garak had planted a bomb on the Romulan shuttle, and he had made its destuction look like Dominion sabotage. To the Tal Shiar it will appear that the Dominion destroyed the shuttle. And in the wreckage of the shuttle, they will find a badly damaged data rod containing damning evidence that the Dominion was going to betray the Romulans, the damage to the rod masking the imperfections in the forgery. It will appear that Vreenak was on his way to expose the Dominion before being blown up. As for Tolar, the forgerer, Garak describes him as a "casualty of war". In other words, Garak eliminated him. Sisko is quite furious, and does further damage to Garak's face, before realizing the real plan was a very good one. In fact it succeeds. The Romulans declare war on the Dominion the next day, and all Sisko has to do now is to wrestle with his conscience. He soon justifies his actions, stating that the lives of a few innocent men, and his own self-respect, are a tiny price to pay for essentially saving the Federation, along with potentially billions of lives. After coming to terms with his actions, Sisko erases the whole log. Memorable Quotes "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" : - Joseph Sisko via Benjamin Sisko "Or we can just forget the whole enterprise." : - Garak, perhaps referring to the fact that Sisko is undertaking a plan that neither Kirk nor Picard would have ever done. "So you're the commander of Deep Space Nine. And the Emissary of the Prophets. Decorated combat officer, widower, father, mentor... Oh and yes, the man who started the war with the Dominion. Somehow I thought you'd be taller..." "Sorry to disappoint you." "To be honest, my opinion of Starfleet officers is so low that you'd have to work very hard indeed to disappoint me." : - Vreenak, Benjamin Sisko "You are persistent, I'll grant you that, captain. But I'm afraid dogged determination isn't enough to change the reality of your situation. Time is definitely not on your side. The Dominion shipyards are working at one hundred percent capacity, your facilities are still being rebuilt. The Dominion is breeding legions of Jem'Hadar soldiers every day -- you're experiencing a manpower shortage. But more important, the Dominion is resolved to win the war, no matter what the cost." : - Vreenak "It's a fake!" : - Vreenak "That is why you came to me, isn't it, captain? Because you knew I could do the things you weren't capable of doing yourself? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you wanted -- a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. If your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet Officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain." : - Elim Garak "At 0800 Hours Station time, the Romulan Empire formally declared War on the Dominion. They have already struck 15 bases along the Cardassian border. So this is a huge victory for the good guys! This may even be the turning point in the entire War. So I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder... and the damndest thing is ... I think I can live with it. Garak was right about one thing, my conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it...Because I can live with it...I can live with it. Computer, Erase that entire personal log" : - Captain Benjamin Sisko Garek: If you will please let you anger subside for a moment, Captain, you will see that they did NOT die in vain! The Romulan's will join the war! Sisko: There's no guarantee of that! Garek: Oh, I think there is. You see, when the Romulans are finished looking through the remains of Vreenak's shuttle, they will discover a data rod that miraculously survived the explosoin, and on that data rod, the plans of the invasion of Romulus were being made. Sisko: And then they will discover that it is a fraud! Garek: no, I don't think they will! Because any imperfections in the data rod will be attributed to damage by the bomb! And so, with a seemingly genuine data rod in one hand and a dead senator in the other, i ask you, Captain, what conclusions would you draw? Sisko: That Vreenak obtained that data rod at the peace conference, and that the Dominion killed him to prevent him from returning to Romulus with it. Background Information * In the first draft of this story, Jake Sisko discovered a dirty secret about Shakaar Edon, and Benjamin tried to stop him from publishing it. It was changed to Jake discovering his father and Garak were involved in shady dealings, but by the final draft, Jake had been removed from the script entirely. *The episode is presented in 'flashback' format, where Captain Benjamin Sisko makes a log entry in his quarters. The viewer takes the perspective of the computer taking in Sisko's log as well as periodic, extended flashbacks to the events which are dictated in said log. *In a unique directorial and writing turn for the series, the audience is faced with more than just the fourth wall concept of television. Rather, the audience becomes interactive. All the while, Captain Sisko is recording a personal log regarding the events of persuading the Romulans. The series explores the complex side of values and principles and deals head-on with the perils of altruism. *The working title of this episode was Patriot *Referenced Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: #98 *It is revealed in this episode that Betazed is relatively close to Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar. It would later be revealed in Star Trek: Enterprise that all these planets are also relatively close to Earth. *Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien) and Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) do not appear in this episode. *This is the second episode in a row in which Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) appears as a holographic simulation. *The Romulan shuttle is the first new Romulan ship seen since the Romulan scoutship in TNG in the late 1980s. Links and References Guest Stars *Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak *Stephen McHattie as Vreenak *Howard Shangraw as Grathon Tolar *Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun *Casey Biggs as Damar References 47; Andor; Betazed; Bio-mimetic gel; Gowron; Glintara sector; Grathon Tolar; Kalandra sector; Kali-fal; Leslie Wong; M'Pella; Neral; Obsidian Order; Optolythic data rod; Orion slave girl; Romulan ale; Soukara; Tellar; Tenth Fleet; USS Cairo * 47 references External Links In the Pale Moonlight at Wikipedia Category:DS9 episodes de:In fahlem Mondlicht nl:In the Pale Moonlight